Links, 6.6.11

Verily, ’twas the week of the Face of Genealogy controversy and righteous kicking of posteriors. Thomas MacEntee called it, the community has responded and the offensive photo in the original LAWeekly post has been taken down. Well done, geneabloggers.

Today in history: You can’t help thinking of D-Day. Here’s how the New York Times handled it. In the Weird Coincidences Department, June 6 also happens to be the day in 1875 when German novelist Thomas Mann was born. (Mann, a notable anti-fascist, spent the World War II years in the United States.) On a completely different note, this is the day (in 1844) that the YMCA was founded in London, ensuring that nobody has any excuses not to exercise.

Switching up: The Irish Times writes an item on Ireland Reaching Out, a genealogy initiative with a twist. It identifies those who left (in this case, southeast Galway) and tracks them, instead of the other way around. Sounds restful.

Freed slaves: The Springfield (Ill.) Journal-Register’s Dave Bakke reports on a state database that can help descendants learn more about freed slaves who may have settled in Illinois. The Servitude and Emancipation Record Database contains what sounds like an impressive array of historical records, including the passes that freed slaves were required to carry by law to prove their status. Twenty counties are included, all in southern Illinois.

Grumpy: A Virginia newspaper columnist alerts us to the fact that he is having a bad day with the title Grumblings From Along The Rapidan. I cannot blame his grumpiness with regard to his recent experience trying to find something on Ancestry.com, which, sadly, sounds all too familiar.

Hairy: Dick Eastman mentions the Smithsonian’s Who Had the Best Civil War Facial Hair contest, wherein you may take your pick of muttonchops, chin-only beards and beard-and-mustache combos to your heart’s content. Alas, all I could take away is the fact that I find all those whiskers kind of oppressive. J.E.B. Stuart probably carries it off the best but who am I to judge, really.